Uh, So Woody Harrelson Might Also Join That ‘Venom’ Movie

Sony’s upcoming Venom movie went from sounding like a horrible idea to looking like one of the more interesting superhero spinoff projects in the works. While we’re not terribly excited about Ruben Fleischer directing, the cast for this thing is, how do you say, lit. In addition to Tom Hardy, the Spider-Man-adjacent Venom is set to star Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate (Jenny Slate! Seriously!). And according to a new report, Woody Harrelson might be getting in on this thing too.

Per Variety, Harrelson is in talks to join the cast of Sony’s Venom movie, one of a few spinoffs set in and around Spider-Man’s universe (the web-slinger himself is not expected to appear in any of these films due to Sony’s deal with Marvel). Harrelson, who earned praise for his righteous work in this year’s War for the Planet of the Apes and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, is rumored to be playing a henchman of sorts in Venom.

Tom Hardy leads the cast as Spider-Man’s most notorious foe opposite Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate, with Riz Ahmed also in talks for a role. Fleischer, whose credits include Zombieland and Gangster Squad, recently revealed that Venom is borrowing its plot from two comic-book runs: Lethal Protector and Planet of the Symbiotes. In the former, the eponymous villain becomes more of an anti-hero type, while the latter features an alien invasion.

Venom last appeared on the big screen in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, largely dismissed as the lesser film in the trilogy — thanks in part to the casting of Topher Grace as the symbiote-infected baddie.

Venom hits theaters on October 5, 2018. You can check out the first official logo for the film here.